Prediction: Robots Will Do More of Your Driving in 2016

The staff of Fortune recently assembled its predictions for 2016. Here’s one of our forecasts.

In the next 12 months, self-driving cars will take big strides: California will draft the first set of consumer rules for autonomous driving, and GM plans to launch hands-free driving capabilities called “Super Cruise.” But only in Japan might the human driver be sidelined entirely—thanks to a venture called Robot Taxi. It’s tentatively slated to provide rides in a pilot project in a suburb of Tokyo, ferrying passengers to and from local grocery stores.

This article is part of the 2016 Fortune Crystal Ball, a package of 33 predictions about business, politics and the economy by the writers and editors of Fortune. To see the entire package, click here.

The staff of Fortune recently assembled its predictions for 2016. Here’s one of our forecasts.

In the next 12 months, self-driving cars will take big strides: California will draft the first set of consumer rules for autonomous driving, and GM plans to launch hands-free driving capabilities called “Super Cruise.” But only in Japan might the human driver be sidelined entirely—thanks to a venture called Robot Taxi. It’s tentatively slated to provide rides in a pilot project in a suburb of Tokyo, ferrying passengers to and from local grocery stores.

This article is part of the 2016 Fortune Crystal Ball, a package of 33 predictions about business, politics and the economy by the writers and editors of Fortune. To see the entire package, click here.